#college-football

#college-football

Six weeks into the college football season, the chaos is starting to settle. Upsets have reshaped the landscape, preseason darlings have faded and the sport's true heavyweights have emerged. The Big Three for me are clear: Ohio State, Oregon and Miami. ( Alabama is third in national title odds, and while I don't agree, that's a different conversation.) The Buckeyes, Ducks and Hurricanes are undefeated, loaded with elite talent and have a real path to the playoff and national title.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Joe Fagnano threw for 355 yards and four touchdowns on 22-for-28 passing in three quarters, Skyler Bell had two touchdown grabs, and UConn cruised by Florida International 51-10 on Saturday. The Huskies (4-2) have won three straight, while the Panthers (2-3) have dropped two in a row. UConn took a 24-point lead into halftime, and scored on five straight drives between the second and third quarters.

The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we're doing but do them better. Fundamentally we're not doing the wrong things, we're just not doing them well enough.

CINCINNATI -- Brendan Sorsby passed for 214 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Pryor ran for 111 yards and two TDs and Cincinnati used a 17-point first quarter to beat No. 14 Iowa State 38-30 on Saturday. The Bearcats (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) beat a ranked opponent at home for the first time since beating No. 16 Houston 35-20 on Dec. 4, 2021.

North Carolina coach Bill Belichick is turning to senior quarterback Max Johnson to start Saturday's game against Clemson, a source told ESPN. Gio Lopez, who opened the season as the Tar Heels starter, is a game-time decision because of a lower body injury, but if he is available, he will serve as Johnson's backup, the source said. Johnson replaced the injured Lopez two weeks ago during a 34-9 loss to UCF.

We've seen some stretches of good football,

In 2013, NBC produced a 4-minute, 41-second commercial to hype up its acquisition of broadcast rights for the English Premier League. Jason Sudeikis starred as "an American Coach in London." After that viral marketing success, some TV writers and producers realized that Ted Lasso, as Sudeikis' character was named, could be good television. The resulting series became the first big hit for Apple TV+ in 2020 and, despite the wishes of many, is still coming back for more.

At Ole Miss, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss eclipsed 300 passing yards for a third consecutive start to help the Rebels slay LSU. After dismantling Illinois in Week 4, Indiana and Georgia Tech, which gained a win in overtime over Wake Forest, escaped trap games to their respective surprise places in the College Football Playoff race. Fellow CFP contenders Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt continued their scorching starts and others -- LSU, Florida State, TCU and USC among them -- stumbled.

What looked to be a great Friday night was one of the best Friday nights in memory, with Virginia pulling off a stirring overtime upset of Florida State, Arizona State unearthing some more close-game magic and Houston coming back to win in overtime in Corvallis. Indiana survived Iowa City. Cincinnati and Kansas put on a Big 12 track meet. Central Washington scored 91 points!

ATHENS, Ga. -- Ty Simpson passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 17 Alabama held on late to beat No. 5 Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night to hand the Bulldogs their first home loss in six years. Alabama (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight after opening the season with a 31-17 loss at Florida State.

STANFORD Sedrick Irvin scored on a 1-yard run with 19 seconds left as Stanford topped San Jose State 30-29 Saturday night at Stanford Stadium. The Cardinal (2-3) drove 80 yards for the winning score, highlighted by a 34-yard pass from Ben Gulbranson to Caden High on fourth-and-10 from the Stanford 41. San Jose State (1-3) had a chance for a go-ahead field goal, but safety Jay Smith broke up a pass at the Stanford 27 with five seconds left.

Mike Gundy is very much alive; he just is no longer employed at Oklahoma State, where over 21 seasons he became the program's all-time winningest coach. He and Swinney have much in common. Both are in their mid-to-late 50s (Swinney 55, Gundy 58). Both built up underperforming programs through their own force of will -- a combination of competitive drive, innovative schemes and personal charisma. During the 2010s, few were better.

Many men of faith struggle with the silence of God. That absence forces the faithful to look for the signs and wonders that act as His guideposts as they seek to fulfill His desires. Many wind up filling that void with their own noise and bluster, mistaking the echo of their voice for God's own. Is this Dabo's sin? Is this why he is being punished? Is he even being punished at all?

"The reaction of our players and coaches to the news this morning is a testament to Shawn's character and the impact he had on every life that he touched. He was loved. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jonelle, and children, Giana and Braxton. We are here to support them and will continue to keep them in our hearts and prayers."

Makai Lemon came screaming across the center of the field, gliding past one Michigan State defender, then another, moving as if the world around him were in slow motion. USC's top receiver had presumably been a top-line focus of the Spartans' game plan - and even more so after fellow wideout Ja'Kobi Lane was ruled out Saturday with an injury. But here was Lemon slicing his way through Michigan State's secondary as if no one had bothered to tell him as much, sprinting free as a deep pass soared in his direction and hit him in perfect stride.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Auburn coach Hugh Freeze called Oklahoma "one of the better pass-rushing teams in the country" after the 11th-ranked Sooners swarmed former quarterback Jackson Arnold and rode a record-setting defensive line performance to a 24-17 win over the No. 22 Tigers on Saturday. Arnold, a former five-star recruit who started nine games at Oklahoma in 2024, was a central storyline in the Week 4 SEC opener. The Sooners commemorated his return by sacking Arnold 10 times, setting a school record in a statement performance that lifted Oklahoma to 4-0 and handed the Tigers their first loss of the season.

This is a bad, bad feeling. Terrible," Swinney said. "This is what we do. This is our passion. We work incredibly hard to get results that we want to get, and when we don't get them, it's a pain that's hard to describe, but it comes with the territory. So we gotta flush it. That's all we can do. There's no hope for a better yesterday.

The Memphis Tigers took a big step toward asserting themselves as a contender for the College Football Playoff on Saturday, taking down the Arkansas Razorbacks 32-31. And although their on-field statement was a serious one, the Tigers also added a more playful swing on social media after the game. Once the victory was sealed, Memphis took to X to post the final score ... and take a shot at Arkansas in the process.